- 5 hours ago
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta previews a Must Win Manchester City match
17/04/2026
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
17/04/2026
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00Arthur, I don't know how you didn't know Alex made him very well personally,
00:04but he met him on to the club.
00:06Yeah.
00:08Some reaction from the club to the sad news this week?
00:11Well, some very sad news, obviously.
00:13We want to send Alex, his family, everybody that was part of his journey in his life,
00:21our condolences and our love, obviously,
00:23because it was shocking news and difficult one to take.
00:29Obviously, I've put something in perspective,
00:31but we have got a big football match now to talk about.
00:35In terms of any injury updates, I guess the one we have had recently was Nani,
00:40who came off and went today and looked like a knee problem.
00:43How's he?
00:44Well, we have another training session tomorrow,
00:47so it didn't look that bad after the game and he was quite positive.
00:51He's a player that pushes through pain,
00:53so I'm hopeful that he can be available,
00:56but we have to wait and see if he's able to train tomorrow.
01:00With Pacayo, obviously, also a last-minute decision.
01:04Could you have potentially a problem on the right inside?
01:07We'll have a solution.
01:08Whatever happens, we are so used to this decision, unfortunately,
01:12for various reasons.
01:14Whatever happens, we'll have the right solution there.
01:16Yeah.
01:18The other three I haven't mentioned,
01:19Marcel Olegard, Jurgen Timberg,
01:23Mikao Calafiore, any update on those?
01:25Yeah, we will try again.
01:26Some players are quite close,
01:28but yeah, the turnaround is short,
01:30so we will try tomorrow to push everybody,
01:33and if they are in good condition, they will be part of us,
01:35and if not, they won't.
01:37They haven't been there in the last few weeks, unfortunately.
01:39You're not ruling any of those out, definitely?
01:41Bocaio is out, that's for sure.
01:43The rest, let's see.
01:44Just to clarify, Mikao Marino is still a little bit away.
01:47Out as well, yeah.
01:49Just a reflection, really, on a great week
01:52in terms of reaching a semi-final of the Champions League,
01:55the second time we've done that in two seasons,
01:58only one of the teams in England,
02:01did you go that far?
02:03That must have given a boost around the play.
02:05It was a great night.
02:07It really gave us a boost,
02:08because to be part of those top best European clubs
02:12is a big thing,
02:14and we haven't been that often there,
02:17so we're really valuable with that,
02:19we give huge credit to the players for what they've done,
02:21and they have to use that fuel,
02:24that energy that they gave us for Sunday,
02:27for the big game that we have to play.
02:28That fuel, that energy, that fire that you were speaking about,
02:32fire not fear,
02:33and was there a little symbol of a fire,
02:36a little fire started in the training room
02:38just to kind of illustrate what you were talking about this week?
02:42Every game we use different themes
02:43to try to prepare the game in the best possible way,
02:47and that depends on what we do.
02:50Your idea of the players?
02:52The best ones are the players' initiatives.
02:55That's the ones I love the most.
02:58This game is obviously a massive game.
03:01There's so many here.
03:04Where does it sit for you, though,
03:06in terms of the massive games that you've already been in charge of
03:09with Arsenal's Champions League semi-files?
03:13Is this the biggest game potentially?
03:15It's certainly the most important one,
03:16because it's the next one.
03:17So we have the right to be in this position,
03:21to be challenging,
03:23and with the possibility to win,
03:25an opportunity to win on Sunday,
03:28arguably against the best team
03:31and the best manager that this league has ever seen.
03:34And that's a huge privilege.
03:35And we cannot wait to play the game.
03:37We're going to prepare the game to win it, that's for sure.
03:41And we see that as a big opportunity for us.
03:44Playing the game to win it,
03:45but obviously a draw would be enough to make sure it's still in the end.
03:49We're not going to spend one second talking about that.
03:51We prepared every game to win.
03:53That's where we are, where we are,
03:54and we're going to continue to do the same.
03:59Can I just ask one more question on that?
04:01The biggest opponent on Sunday,
04:03is it going to be City or yourselves?
04:07I mean, our team has to...
04:10No, no, no, no.
04:11Our team has to give us every tool,
04:14every element that we need to go and win it.
04:17And we will have a very, very strong opponent.
04:19We know that in front of us.
04:20But we've been doing it for nine months in every context.
04:24We have played a lot of games against them,
04:25and we know what we have to do.
04:28Hi.
04:30After the Chelsea game,
04:31Pep said it's the mindset, not the tactics.
04:34Especially at this stage of the season.
04:37And on Sunday,
04:38how much the mentality, the resiliency, the attitude will be essential?
04:43Not necessarily just tactics.
04:45Yeah, I think it's a big part of that.
04:47I mean, everything plays a part in a match.
04:50Technique as well, obviously,
04:52because without that there is nothing.
04:54But there is obviously a huge part to play in that sense.
04:58And we have improved a lot in that area.
05:02And we have to show it on Sunday again, that's for sure.
05:04Two players I want to ask you about this.
05:06Declan Rice, first of all.
05:07After one of the goals you could see against Boone,
05:10and quite a few players gathered around him for leadership and guidance.
05:13He's been outstanding since he joined the West Ham.
05:16This weekend, could that be the biggest Premier League game for him as an Arsenal player?
05:23I don't know.
05:24I think it's unquestionable the role that he has at the club, in the team,
05:28and he has earned it day by day.
05:30So the impact that is had on us and in our way of playing,
05:34the way we are competing and where we are,
05:37it's a big part because of what he's done and what he's brought to the team as well.
05:42So Sunday is another opportunity for all our players to deliver that again.
05:46Can I please ask you about Max Dalman,
05:48if you decide to start him on Sunday because of injuries or other reasons,
05:51how confident are you that he's ready for the team?
05:53He will be ready, I'm sure.
05:55You throw him in any context, this kid,
05:58you know why he's going to be delivering,
06:00and he's shown that this season and in whatever games that we used him.
06:05Alex, BBC.
06:06Hi.
06:07Have you said that if Arsenal win on Sunday, the title race is over?
06:11Do you see it like that?
06:13I don't know, there are six games to go.
06:15Obviously it's a really important one for both teams
06:18and it will incline the balance a little bit,
06:22but winning a game in the Premier League is so tough for everybody,
06:25so after this one they will have still some very difficult matches for all of us
06:30and we'll have to wait and continue whatever happens.
06:33It's obviously a massive game during the season,
06:36where the teams are and the history between Arsenal and Manchester City
06:39and the Carroll World Cup final.
06:40You've spoken before about how everyone at the club wants to win so badly.
06:45Same with the supporters, can that tension come onto the pitch
06:49or how do you thrive in their conditions?
06:51No, I think that has to be the vitamin for everybody, you know.
06:58In whatever we do, that's going to be what elevates us to be better,
07:03to thrive us to be better, to have more hunger, more desire to do it,
07:07but never in a negative way.
07:10Ian Stocksworth?
07:11Hi, Mikael, how are you?
07:12Good, thank you.
07:13Who's under more pressure on Sunday?
07:15You, because you're out in front and you've been out in front of the North Tumbles,
07:18because they're trying to catch you?
07:20Who's more privileged to be in this position? I think that's the question.
07:23Who's more privileged to be in this position?
07:25I don't know. I feel very privileged, so I don't know how to pay for Man City.
07:32I feel very privileged to have earned the right to be in this position,
07:35to play such a big and great game.
07:38If I ask a question, then you re-ask it, and when I re-ask, you don't answer anyway.
07:44Six injuries. You've got six injuries at the moment.
07:47This is not a great time, is it, to be going into a game of this magnitude
07:51with so many players that mean?
07:54No, but we have caught with that all season.
07:57If you look back at the stages and the plays that we have means for big,
08:01big, big, big periods, and where we are, it's not normal where we are.
08:05But we have caught with that because of our mentality and the solutions that we find,
08:10the way the players have stepped up in this moment,
08:12and we are where we are.
08:14We are still very strong, and we will remain the same way.
08:17Finally, a player you know well.
08:19It's the last time he would be coming up against him.
08:21Bernardo Silva, he's leaving City at the end of the season.
08:25He's won 15 trophies, he's been there nearly 10 years.
08:28Just outline for us what a magnificent professional he's been, in your opinion, not mine.
08:34He's an incredible player, an incredible person as well.
08:37So, first time I watched him live, he was at PSG Monaco, straight away.
08:41I fell in love with him, not only the way he plays, the way he competes,
08:44the way he lives the game, the desire, the hunger that he has,
08:50and then obviously we spent four years together.
08:53He's that top guy, you see him in any circumstances, and he delivers always his very best.
09:00He's one of those players that I think is Mark's history in the Premier League.
09:05Can I just ask for Kaio, we've seen this week obviously with Hugues and Tique at Liverpool,
09:13how important it is to manage that kind of return, because of how big those injuries can be for players
09:25when they happen?
09:25Yeah, well, I don't know how Hugo's situation beforehand,
09:30but I take the opportunity to hopefully he recovers very soon,
09:34because I think he's a tremendous player.
09:36And with B, yeah, we are handling to protect the player festival,
09:39and then to perform as well as he possibly can,
09:44the earliest that we can possibly deliver that, so that's the challenge.
09:48Has he been able to come back to training and do ball work for Arsenal?
09:52He's just starting to do some stuff, so let's see that progression,
09:56how quickly we can go through it and then wait, but at the moment it's not available.
10:03Hi.
10:05Can you talk about Pantons with Mendy?
10:06We saw during the warm-up match the players getting around and trying to support him,
10:11and we saw when Andrew's manager the other day they celebrated that with him.
10:14Has there been a conscious effort to try and lift him?
10:17Well, that's our responsibility to try to give tools to players to step up,
10:23to understand when they're not at the best what the reason is,
10:27to try to unlock that, and he certainly did that.
10:30I guess you've spoken a lot about how much physical he's had put in this season.
10:35Has there been a tough period for him mentally?
10:37Well, I don't know, but when you see that reaction,
10:41it's because the players festival value everything that he's doing for the team,
10:46and because of the type of person that he is.
10:48And when someone reacts in the manner that he did in a quarter five in the Champions League
10:53to play at the level that he did, big credit to him.
10:57Hi.
10:58When you last played City in the Cup Final,
11:01and they set up with that front four of Papal and Scherke,
11:03Ximeno and Brocu,
11:05it seemed like there was a struggle to play through those four.
11:08How have you gone back over that game and learned from it?
11:12They've done it in the past.
11:13There are some moments that we are so low,
11:15we didn't make the right decision.
11:17Sometimes we break that press and then we didn't take advantage of that.
11:21Every tactic has its issues, its opportunities as well.
11:25And in relation to what they do, we will adapt and we'll do the same.
11:30Can I ask you about Mosquera?
11:32Because he's been a player that had to adopt different positions this season,
11:35playing internally and also, as we saw on Wednesday at Brightback.
11:38What is it that drew you to him and how impressed have you been with his adaption?
11:43Well, that's one of the qualities that we liked about him,
11:47and when Andrea proposed the player, he knew him very well from Valencia,
11:50and we started to analyse him and we needed a player of that profile.
11:55And it's surprisingly positive the way he's done it,
11:59because to ask him to sit in the Premier League at this level is one thing,
12:03to ask him to play in three different positions regardless of the moment of the opposition,
12:08it's something else and he's been phenomenal.
12:11Charles McGill?
12:13On Declan and the captaincy, you said on Wednesday the players made that decision.
12:19What do you mean by that?
12:20Was there another vote in the summer?
12:22And if so, why?
12:23No, because there is a captain, there is a vice-captain,
12:26and after that there are three or four, and the votes are very small,
12:29so at the end they have to feel who is the best person to represent.
12:33It can be the moment, it can be the longevity that they've been at the club,
12:38and they decided that it was Declan, so great.
12:41Does this have any sort of a long-down significance for the captain?
12:44Is he still captain?
12:46I don't think so, no.
12:48James, here's the captain.
12:49Hi.
12:50How relevant is the captain of the Cup final, what happened to Sunday?
12:55For us now, to learn from that game and the things that we want to change for the next one,
13:02and the pain that we felt afterwards was in the right way on Sunday.
13:06You were always so respectful of preparing for City.
13:10I mean, in that game, mind-sure if he was doing the upbeat before we played,
13:15failing an injury, going to the Arsenal fans.
13:18Do you use any of that as possible?
13:21No, I think every player has his way to express it and you have to respect that.
13:27As part of football, you are allowed to do it and you can react in the manner that you want,
13:31but I think the player has to be respected because he's entitled to those things.
13:35In the last game up there, obviously that ending with Harlan saying stay humble to you,
13:41do you ever get to the bottom of that?
13:43No.
13:44Did you ever speak to him about it?
13:46No.
13:46Or pets?
13:47No.
13:49If I have to talk about all the things that have been said on the pitch,
13:54I think we'll have some big meetings.
13:57It's not unusual for a player to say that.
13:59No, no, no.
14:01Not that much.
14:03Don't worry.
14:04The mics are coming in football.
14:06I don't know when.
14:10That's one of the nicest things that you can get told.
14:14Okay, we'll do the last couple of the as-likes.
14:16First of all, Phil from PA.
14:17I don't know, Phil.
14:18Just slightly following up on that, I suppose.
14:19Do you expect there will be that fireworks or rivalry on the pitch on Sunday,
14:24just because of what's happened in previous times?
14:28Well, I mean, it's obviously an extremely competitive match
14:32against top sides that are looking to win the Premier League.
14:35It doesn't get better than that,
14:37and that competition for sure is going to be seen on the pitch.
14:40Do you sense maybe for your players that they'd like to get one over City
14:44particularly more than perhaps maybe any other side?
14:47Not in particular.
14:48It's about what we want and how we're going to get it done.
14:51And that's more than enough for us.
14:53And just finally, I appreciate earlier you said you didn't want to respond to
14:57the players and Pepp's comments that if they lose or so,
14:59but do you feel that if you win,
15:01it's a major step in the right direction?
15:03I mean, winning at this stage, you are a bit closer.
15:06We win the first game in the final of the Champions League,
15:09we're going to be closer.
15:10That's for sure.
15:11And that's why we want to win the game on Sunday.
15:13That's clear.
15:14I think he has a lot of fun.
15:15You've got to Stefan from Beijing, Norway.
15:18Hi.
15:20Not surprising, I'm going to ask you about Martin Odegaard.
15:22When you look at his season,
15:24with all the injuries and the setbacks and all sorts of responsibility
15:27as being a captain here and for the national team,
15:30what does a season like the one Martin has had now
15:33reveals to you, revealed to you about a player?
15:36What does it tell you about a player?
15:37What has it told you about Martin?
15:39I think I need to go back five years to talk about the player
15:42because I think the sample is much bigger.
15:45And what Martin is giving to this club, to this team,
15:47to me in particular, it's huge.
15:50And injuries are part of football.
15:52He's been very, very unlucky this season.
15:54But his anger and desire to be with the team is there.
15:56And every time he plays, obviously,
15:58you see the difference that he makes for us.
16:00OK.
16:01If I finish the last line, we'll go to...
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